Catalyst vessel



Sept. 27, 1949. o; R. BONINGCER CATALYST VESSEL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 29. 1946 INVENTOR. OTTO R. BONINGER ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 27, 1949 CATALYST vEssEL Otto R. Boninger, Phillips, Tex., assignor to Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of Delaware Application July 29, 1946, Serial No. 686,961 6 Claims. (Cl. 23-288) This invention relates to chemical treating vessels. .In one of its more specific aspects it relates to vessels adapted to contain solid reagent material for the promotion of better and more eflicient contacting of fluids with solids. In a still more specific aspect it relates to a means for supporting a catalyst Within a containing vessel adapted for the contacting of fluids with a solid catalytic material.

The apparatus of my invention finds utility in a catalyst chamber assembly in hydrocarbon conversion reactions, in clay treating of hydrocarbons and in many other applications wherein .a fiuid is contacted with a solid reagent.

"An object of my invention is to provide a treating vessel assembly adapted for the promotion of improved contacting of fluids with solid material.

' vide a catalyst bed support assembly for use in high temperature catalytic conversion chambers wherein the assemblycontains no easily plugged separating screen, and further, is, adapted to absorb expansion and contraction of associated 1 parts due to thermal changes. V g

Still other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a careful study of the following description and the attached drawing which respectively describes and illustrates 'a preferred form of my apparatus.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a cross sectional view, in part, of a catalyst chamber containing one form of my catalyst support, taken onthe line |l of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is an elevational cross section of catalyst chamber containing my catalyst support, taken on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an elevational'cross section, of the catalyst chamber assembly taken on the line 33 of Figure 1, and at right angles to the elevational view of Figure 2. f

Figure 5 is a plan view of an "alternate joint between grating plates. v I

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the alternate joint between grating plates taken on the line 2 -4 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a plan view of a perforated cap showing positioning lugs and a section of a grating plate. 7

Figure 6 is a cross sectional elevation of a perforated cap taken on the line 6--6 of Figure 7, showing positioning lugs and a section of a grating plate. r I

Referring now to the drawing, and specifically to Figures 1, 2 and 3, a catalyst chamber H is composed of a steel shell l2 containing a refractory lining material l3. In the base of the chamber this refractory material may be cut away to form a relatively smooth horizontal surface M. This horizontal surface is broken by a channel 15. This channel I5 is shown in cross section in Figure 3 and in end view of Figure 2. In Figure 1, the broken lines 16 define the side Walls of this channel, which has a bottom sloping in such a manner that at the point of discharge of the channel into a discharge outlet H "of thechamber, the channel has a maximum stantially at right angles thereto.

; cross sectional area.

; l jsitting upon the horizontal surface M of the base insulation are several I-beams l8 which are disposed in a direction substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the channel [5. As illustrated in Figures 1 and 3 there are intended to be four such cross I-beams, however, the particular number is immaterial and depends for the most part on the size or diameter of a catalyst vessel.

Mounted upon the I-beams l8 are some ribbed grating plates 2|, with the ribs 22 resting directly upon the upper'flanges of I-beams l8, and sub- The outer edge 23 of the grating plate is fitted loosely into a slot 24 in the side wall insulation for expansion purposes. Y

In chambers of medium to small'size these grating plates may be fabricated in quadrants, which fabrication makes for easy installation 7' and removal when necessary.

In larger chambers, that is of greater diameter, these ribbed plates may be made in squares, or rectangles, and fitted into place but the outer as mentioned above, wherein. the grating plates may be built in quadrant form, corresponding edges of each quadrant may be made to have a lip 25, see Figures 2 and 3, which extends over the adjacent edge of the adjoining plate. In this manner, a tight and yet thermally expansive joint is formed. By making the expansion slot 24 in the side wall insulation and the lip Joints 25 sufiiciently large, any reasonable amount of expansionzor contraction due (to thermal causes, may be --absorbed and yet maintain'a tightuand intact catalyst supporting assembly.

The grating plates 2| are perforated or rather are made having holes 28 at spaced intervals as illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3, and in Fig-uEe S.

Over these holes 26 arepositioned some per- H forated caps 21. A cap iis rshown linldetail :in Figure 6 in which some top perforations 28 and sidewall slots 3! are illustrated. .In one emb.odiment these top cap perforations are "inch diameter round holes and the side slotsiarei h inch across or wide and their length may be de- :pendent uponrthe height .ofithe caps.

(The openings .26 .-.in the grating .plate .were about 3 inches in diameter and of sucha-number gas tozpermit .proper flow of reactant "fluid therethrough. -Perforated. caps. covering 37inch .Qpenings may be about 4 inches inside diameter and *hfildzin place by -.lu gs .33 described herein below.

rlnicatal-yst -charnber -.operation, it .is known -that vapor.velocity ;-is;greatest-in the centralportion of a catalyst bed, and the vapor .velocity decreases progressively from the .center -tow-ard -..-the circumference aoftbed -onin other words the greater theihorizontal distance from the vertical :longitudin-al axis the greater-is the pressure drop nthrongh -:-the f-bed. -To overcome this .increased.

:pressure,lprovide perforatedzeaps having longer side avail-slots at points nearerrthe 1 circumference rof the: chamber. :Thus ebygprogressively increasr inglthesslotarea ofrthe caps with-the distance. of @the .capsfrom the -.centereof-ltherchamber, a more .nearly [uniform ;pressure drop throughout the -.cross-. sectional azarea 10f the chamber -may. .be ob- 'tained.

{This increased uslotcarea --may :be .realized .in numerous ways, for example,..by making-taller .or 1 longer caps, or by making caps. having :greater iratiopfnopeningsto surface area onboth. .The .former; method ,Ie preier,ssincealongergcaps. having rlong :slots are wStill .mechanically .jstrong. Caps having :increased 5 perforations ,andeslot-area are -.obvio-usly weakened. -.,Caps rhaving ..lar.ger (diam- :eters "might on the surface aappear to: solve .the .;problem-but whenuising .capsof jgreater diameter a smaller number can be assembled-evera given grating plate.-area,.- so :thaoverall area of ppeningsrree --to the .passageof reactant orrefaction gaseseis substantially unchanged. I pre- (fer, then, tor-userlongen.ontallencaps having: cor- .respondingly longer -;side slots at apointsnearer .the-ehambensidewalls. .Tcdllustr-ate this -point, d

lines 32 shown in Figures 2 and 3 are intendeduto .illustrate the -;.pr0gressive --arrangement 'of maps 00f different heights. sSome -lugs 33, may .be eweldedttoathe grating plate 2! for maintaining rthelca-psqzl in their ,propenposition. onztherplates. Qtherzmeans may, ..of. course, be used for 'i'ixi-ng the-position :of -.the .-caps, --but:the use ofrthe lugs :33 issim-pleTand rela- ...tively inexpensive. ssufdcient clearance .-should be provided between.- lugsE and. caps, so that gratingr can move freely idue qtosexpansion aand .eontraction, whereas caps are ..held in ;.place -.-by -ceramimballs.

.,A layer -of .about Ms .inch ..diameter .ceramic balls. 29 .may be. placed ..directly.npon therating and between the perforated caps and suflicient ceramic balls to cover the cap to a depth of 2 to 3 inches. This layer of ceramic ware prevents direct contact of the main bulk of catalyst with the perforated caps and assists materially in preventing or minimizing catalyst leakage through the cap perforations and slots.

llheldiameter-or width rofrthesslotsl l and the diameter-"of the perforations i28-1are great as possible in order to decrease resistance to fluid .fiow and yet be consistent with mechanical strength. The slots and perforations, similarly must'not be so wide or large as to permit leakage of catalyst.

.iThisgpointdsnl-ie of the important advantages of my invention, .that is, by the use of the top ,perforations and .side slots in the caps such mechanically weak'equipment as bed screens are not raised. Such screens continuously plug up with catalyst grains, especially at times of cycle ..change, .and ,plugged screens \cause increased ;:p2ess.ur.edropandrultimatelyra chamber must be .talrentofithellineand the. screen unplugged .or -.r,emoted. :Screens also get. caught between grat- .-:ing.=se.ctions:and become torn, when the .latter vmoves -;due to temperaturechanges.

.SIo. seal the central point -.of .the eatalyst. sup- ,port structure. against catalystlealcagel may. use a small diameterrcircular plate 34, illustrated in Figured .This-plate; may beheld loosely inplace .by :founadjacent periorated. caps. The ,point. of junction of-,the-.right.'angle cornersofithegrating .gu-adrantsis..anopeningrof .variable. size. These four gratineaquadrantscan be. installed touching one another. so as .tominimize an openingat. their .common junction :point, .but once .the chamber liS heated :and I cooled .these (quadrant ,points {no danger touch .one .another. .and .amopening. of. appreciable -size.may-.r,esult through which. catalyst maysift. With the use-,ofuthiacircular.plate.34, .expansion .and contraction still .eccur, .but .the area of opening formed on gratingccontraction is not localized .at. one point .but,is-.divided among .fourpoints, that islat pcints betweenthe. lip-r25 .ofleach: quadrant .plateand .theadiacent: point of the circumferenceofithe.disc.of circular, plateJM. lThus ,lesscatalystcan leak :through .four small cpenings-than-may. lea-l:- through .one large Qpenmg.

..As.an; alternative .to the-useof .these quadrant plate lips 25,..1. may useca. doubleslide. p1ate..-35, .a..cnoss..,section of which ,is illustrated in Figure A. ..In-thi-s embodiment ,the quadrant, platesv have no filips and .the .variable "area between .plates .covered swithflaisortbf long. flatgplartezmember or with a T-type membenthecr-oss .barcof course being. larger..than.the verticalhar. This member .is held..in.=placerbyadiacent rows rof the:.per-

.forated.caps. .With suclna -T-.type .member-gthe jsizevoralengthbf .the, cross,- loarnisisiicldv astomake certain .that rtheaopening .to ...be covered his covered is covered at all timesand thatsaid Tgty-pe member -does not pass between -the .nuadrant .plates. 3

. L'The verticalheight otthe. ribs.22 on the-underside of'the grating plates may..be:of 'theprderrof say. 2.1'nches.toaboutfiinchea. thisheight, however is notncritical. and ,may .be .uaried '.to r; suit a given set ofcrmditions. Therib,si le,.--.however, must besufiicientfor meehanicaLstren th to supportjhe combined loadcof .the-.,quadrant,-.plates, the,perforatedhaps andnthe .catalyst-under high temperature and high;;pressurerdifierential-aopreration. conditicns.

The I-beams 18 may be perforatedvwithrrelatively large openings IQ for passage of reactant or reaction fluids. These openings may be circular in shape or elliptical, or any other shape desired, the particular shape being obviously immaterial. These openings should not be so large as to decrease the load carrying strength of the I-beams, but, yet should be of a suficiently large number and of sufficient size to assist in the transfer of fluids from the openings 26 in the grating plates to the channels l5 and outlet opening [1.

In the construction of a catalyst chamber and the assembling of my catalyst support assembly, I first add suflicient insulation to the inside bottom of the vessel, that the top surface of the insulation may be leveled and smoothed sufficiently to serve as a base for the I-beams I8. In addition the sloping cross channels I5 may be molded or cut into this insulation as shown in Figures 1, '2 and 3. These cross channels terminate in the main chamber outlet passage IT. The I-beams l8 are laid at right angles to the common 1ongitudinal axis of the channels IS. The quadrant ribbed grating plates are next inserted with the outer circular edge fitting into the previously cut slot 24 in the side wall insulation. The grating plates are so positioned that the ribs on the underside thereof are substantially at right angles to the I-beams l8. These plates are so positioned with the lips 25 overlapping as described hereinabove. The circular plate 34 is then dropped into place. The perforated caps are then placed so that the shortest caps having the smallest slot area are near the chambers center, while taller ,caps are placed nearer the side walls. The lugs 33 have previously been placed so that the installation of the caps merely amounts to dropping them into their proper position. The center circular plate 34 and the double slide plates 35 are dropped into place in case these latter are used in place of the lip seal, in both cases the circular plates 34 are placed, wherever four ribbed plates 2| join.

After all the metal parts of the grating supports are placed, inch diameter ceramic balls are first placed on the grating and between the perforated caps. Balls may be placed to a depth of 2 to 3 inches above the caps then granular, pelleted or other form of catalyst may be shoveled or otherwise charged to the vessel directly upon the ceramic balls.

In the operation of a catalyst chamber employing my catalyst support, fluids or particularly gases at conversion temperature may pass downward through the bed of catalyst and leave the catalyst through the plurality of openings, that is, cap perforations and slots, and pass through the multiple openings 26, the space between the ribs 22, through the perforations IQ of the I-beams it, between the I-beams l8 and through the channels l5 into the outlet conduit H.

The channels l5 are intended to assist in carrying vapors from some remote points near the periphery of the chamber to the central outlet I! of the vessel. From Figures 1 and 3 it may be seen that beams [8 are positioned approximately at right angles to'the longitudinal axis of the troughs l5. The two centermost beams l8 cross the vessel outlet I! while the remaining two beams 8 are relatively short and are remote from the outlet I! and are positioned nearer the shallow ends of the troughs. These troughs are intended to assist especially in prompting flow of reaction vapors from the catalyst support in the areas between these short beams and the adjacent circular sidewalls. Some reaction vapors pass through the beam openings l9 in these short beams but the troughs l5 also carry some reaction vapors from the same region to the outlet II. By using beam openings l9 and the troughs i5, vapors flow easily and with little pressure drop from the above mentioned grid sections to the outlet l1.

Some reaction vapors passing through the grid assembly at points between each pair of long and short beams l8 also pass to the outlet tube I! through the troughs I5. In this manner pressure drop of reactant vapors from grid openings 26 to the outlet I1 is reduced over that resulting from use of the beam openings I9 alone.

My catalyst support, likewise, may be used for gas distribution over the cross section of a catalyst chamber in upflow processing.

Several sizes of ceramic pebbles may be used, by first placing a layer of half inch pebbles or balls directly on the grating plate and between the caps, then adding a 2 or 3 inch layer of pebbles of smaller size. Usually it is not necessary to use pebbles smaller than to 4 inch in diameter.

For high temperature service the metal portions of my catalyst support should preferably be made from an alloy steel, such as a high chromium stainless alloy steel. Such a steel maintains its strength in both compression and tension at hydrocarbon conversion and even at combustive regeneration temperatures.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that my catalyst support, that is, the grid plates (balls and caps) may be supported on a radial beam assembly, or on a beam assembly composed of several concentric circular beams or other type of beam assembly, In a radial beam assembly, the troughs may not be needed, while in a circular beam assembly, four such troughs as trough l5 may preferably be used.

When my catalyst support is used in such service as catalytic desulfurization which involves more moderate temperatures, the support members may be .made of ordinary structural steel.

Any satisfactory type of catalyst vessel shell and insulation therefor, satisfactory for a desired conversion, may be used, since those members form no part of my invention.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations and modifications of my catalyst bed support may be made and yet remain within the intended spirit and scope of my invention.

Having disclosed my invention, I claim:

1. A contacting vessel comprising in combination a substantially vertically disposed closed outer shell, said shell having a fluid inlet in its upper end portion and a fluid outlet in its lower end; an insulation lining covering the inner surface of said shell; a plurality of horizontally disposed support beams in the lower portion of the chamber within said lined shell; a grating plate assembly supported on rib projecting downwardly therefrom to said support beams, said assembly having perforations disposed over its area; and perforate caps covering said perforations in said grating plate assembly, the perforate area of said caps nearer the periphery of said chamber being greater than the perforate area of caps nearer the axis of said chamber.

2. A contacting vessel comprising in combination a substantially vertically disposed closed outer shell, said shell having a fluid inlet in its upper end portion and a fluid outlet in its lower end; an insulation lining covering the inner suraassgr ze face of said-shell ;v a plurality of horizontally disposed parallel support beams in the lower pornon of the chamber within said lined shell; a grating plate assembly supported 'on' :ribs proiecting downwardly therefrom to said support beams; said assembly having perforations disposed over its area; and per'forate cap members coverin said perforations in said grating .plate assembly, said caps having substantially equal hbriiohta'l dross-sections butthos caps which-are closer to the periphery of said chamber being talier' and having greater perforate area than caps i i'e'arer the' axis of said chamber.

3. The contacting vessel of claim 2, wherein the'ratio of perforations in said caps to the surface area of the caps is substantially the same for all cap members.

A eozitactingvessel com'prisingincombination substantially vertically disposed closed outer s"laell,- sb.id-shell" having a fluid inlet in :its upper ion and a fluid outlet in its lower end; a insulation-lining covering the inner surface of said-shell; a plurality of horizontally disposed parallel support beams in the lower portion of the member Within said lined-"Shell a grating plate assembly supportedon ribs projecting downwardly therefrom to said support beams said assembly having perforations disposed over its area; and perforate cap members covering said perforations in-said grating plate assembly, said caps being or substantially equal size, those caps Whit-hare closento th'e periphery of said chamher having a greater" ratio of perforationsto the 's'ufiace-area of the capsth'an caps closer to the attis' ot said chamber.

5. A contacting vessel comprising in combinatron a substantially Vertically disposed closed cuter shelL-said shell having afluid inlet in. its upper-'ndportioir and' a' fluid outlet centrally "disposed in its lower "end; :an insulation lin'ing covering 'the inner surface or said shell, said lining rormin g at least one pair-of channels in the bottom cr the chamber forlii'e'd by said li'l'iin'g', which channels eiiteiid from the periphery of said chamber "to said flllid outlet, each channel "pair 45 bemgin linear alignment; a plurality of h'Ori- :zontaily disposed parallel support beams on the bottom of said chamber, said beams beingdisposed at substantially right angles to apai-r of said channels a grating plate assemblyz-supported on ribs projecting downwardly therefrom to said support beams, said assembly having perforations distributed over its area; perforate cap members covering said perforations in said grating plate assembly, said caps having substantially equal cr'oss section's but the caps which are closer to the periphery of said chamber being proportionately taller and having proportionately greater perforate areas than caps nearer the axis ofsaid chamber; and lug members rigidlyaifixedm said grating plate assembly about said caps covering sai-dzperiorations therein, whereby said capmembars-are prevented from sliding and are retained in place.

6. The contacting vessel of claim 5; wherein said grating plate assembly comprises quadrants each of the quadrants being provided with a raised extending lip along one of its inner edges and the other inner edge being plain, said quad rants being assembled o that a plain inner'edgie of one quadrant is-fitte'd in' the recess formedflby the extending lip of the adjacent quadrant; and said cap members are provided with a plurality of apertures up to inch in diameter in their upper ends and with a plurality 'ofslotsupto inch in width and a length proportionate to the'length of the sides of said caps in their :sids;

OTTO R; BONTNGER;

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record 'ixrthe file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Murpliree Apr". sill-194B FOREIGN PATENTS Country Great Britain (1912) July 25,- 191-2 Great Britain (1911) -Aug'.-8 1 9'12 Number 2,399,560

Number Date 

